Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans--Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild by Greg Palast Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans--Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild
Book Review: Hits on point for which the real arguments are commonly diverted from
Summary: 5 Stars
To me, the two most important points of the book had little to do with the U.S. election. The first relates to Iraqi oil. The few remaining Bush apologists simplify the concept of "war for oil" to mean that if Americans aren't looting the oil and coming home with a barrel under each arm then the war cannot possibly be "about oil". The issue is about CONTROL of oil. The battles between various American factions (neo-con enemies of OPEC vs. corporate friends of OPEC) is as important as any Sunni vs. Shia conflict. Being about oil means being about control means a lot more than just "getting" the oil.
The second is about the levees in New Orleans. It issue is about the levee failure not the hurricane directly. Did the levees failed when they should not have based on the government's effective guarantee of them? It appears the government failed at a responsibility it had taken upon itself. Greg does a good job making the argument that the administration had a fair warning that the levees were not up to the task they had been suggested to be. Also, as they failed, there was time to respond which was ignored. This failure to respond turns out to be to the benefit for many people (both Democrat and Republican). So much time is spent talking about the hurricane. The conservative reply has been to try to focus on the hurricane itself. George Bush cannot be blamed for the weather right? Failing that, blame the people themselves. Failing that, blame state and local officials. And finally failing that blame Brownie (offer up ONE bad guy in the Federal government who maybe have done a little better). All that diverts from the real problem. It was the levees, and it could have been avoided.
Book Review: Armed Madhouse
Summary: 5 Stars
Excellent book. Gives a lot of information on what is going on with Iraq and Oil.Book Review: Good reporting - but too heavy on the spin
Summary: 2 Stars
It's unfortunate that more books on this topic are not written and/or widely read. Palast does a good job of trying to keep this issue in the mainstream. Unfortunately, I think he cheapens the effort by writing in a style that is overly sarcastic and glib. The whole book comes across as a left wing hatchet piece. The shortcomings of the Bush administration and Congress are plain to see for anyone who takes the time to even read a book. I think the cause would have been better served by more straightforward reporting and less commentary. Palast's disdain literally drips off the page.
There is one short passage on pg 228 about the replacement of the Broward County Supervisor of Elections, Miriam Oliphant. I live in Broward and this was a major news story for months. Palast portrays her as being replaced by a republican because of her objections to the voting systems. Nothing could be further from the truth. She was replaced because she was incompetent. She bungled elections, mismanaged her staff and budget, and was a terrible manager. The Democratic party led the effort to have her removed. Governor Bush actually refused to remove her at first. Also, her replacement was a democrat, not a republican as Palast states.
Although, I did not take the time to re-check any other facts. This one I knew to be untrue just sort of turned me off from his whole style. He is overly anxious to portray every single action and fact as contributing to his whole case. This important issue would have been better brought to light by a more serious investigative piece. For example, Thomas Ricks did not need to inject sarcasm into Fiasco to crucify Bush's handling of the Iraq war. Bottom line, this book is written with such a severe slant that the only people who will read it already agree with his conclusions. It's not likely to change any minds.
Book Review: The Madness of King George W. Bush
Summary: 4 Stars
Greg Palast is an investigative journalist with a penchant for hard- hitting, yet humorous and highly readable commentary on the political happenings of our time. In "Armed Madhouse", Palast presents one of his best efforts yet at exposing the dishonesty and motivations of the Bush administration in regards to the War Against Iraq, the War on Terror, the Hurricane Katrina debacle, the loyalty to Big Oil, and the tactics used to ensure a Bush victory in 2004 as well as help better ensure a Republican presidential victory in 2008. Starting with the Iraqi war, this book presents its investigative work for all to see; showing how the war was started on false pretenses; how oil influenced the decision to invade Iraq; and some of the likely reasons why Bush wanted Saddam Hussein out of power. A large part of this book is devoted to the Iraqi war and the influence of oil in politics and some of the investigations and findings will surprise the average reader. Most everyone already knows about the false "weapons of mass destruction" charge, but few may realize some of the key motives for getting rid of Saddam when there were far more dangerous leaders in the world worth taking out. These motives are presented in the book, along with explanations, and they offer some good thinking points on the true motives for invading Iraq.
My favorite part of Armed Madhouse is Chapter four, in which Palast exposes the Election of 2004 for the fraud that it was. Most people are already fully aware of the problems with the Election of 2000, but few are aware of the different tactics used to ensure a Bush re- election victory in 2004. Palast admits that the problem in 2004 wasn't anything openly dishonest, like erasing millions of votes from the record books. He points out that the 2004 election swindle was conducted in a much subtler way, so that few would take notice. It basically comes down to this: It is a known fact that minorities vote in large percentages for Democratic candidates. Therefore, to swing an election, all that a determined individual or organization has to do is find ways to disqualify or discourage people from these different groups from voting, or find ways to not count their votes after they are cast. This is what happened in 2004, according to the book, and what it says isn't far- fetched at all. By finding ways to disqualify votes in areas (or among groups of people) that are heavily Democratic, an election outcome can easily be changed. This is what happened in 2004 when Kerry actually won the majority of votes cast, but Bush won the majority of votes counted. It has happened before and it will likely happen again in 2008.
A related chapter to the one on the election mishaps is the chapter on class warfare. Here, Palast offers some explanations on the motivations behind the Bush White House and its efforts to expand poverty and keep the poor in their place. From the Social Security issue to Bush's "No Child's Behind Left", Palast points out what he feels is the main reason why Bush and his administration propose the policies that they do: To quietly and deceptively promote class warfare and ensure that the United States always has an underclass. I like some of the points made in this chapter, but other points are not as strong and they could mislead readers. For example, it is true that the number of people living below the poverty line has increased with Bush in office, but it is not true that the Social Security system is completely safe and secure. Yes, some politicians use scary projections to make the people believe that the Social Security system is going to go bankrupt in the next five years. That is an exaggeration, but it is an equal exaggeration on the part of Palast to pretend the system stands on rock- solid ground.
Palast offers a good dose of humor when he writes, and he comes up with some very clever quips about the different policies of the Bush administration and different events that have taken place while Bush has been in office. Another quality I like about Armed Madhouse is the copies of different documents that Palast and his team obtained during their investigative work. Using the Freedom of Information Act and other means, Palast was able to get his hands on many incriminating documents and he includes some of them in this book. It is funny how portions of so many different documents are blackened out by the senders, in an effort to make sure that the public doesn't discover the full truth. The book presents the documents in their tampered- state, so that readers can see exactly what happened to them. They are very telling about the secretiveness of the Bush administration.
Overall, I like Armed Madhouse and I recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the inner- workings of the Bush White House. The economic ramblings are often off the mark, and some criticisms are taken a bit far. But I like the book's outspoken style and the fact that Palast talks straight without getting too rude or resorting to name calling. George W. Bush is nearing the end of his White House reign, but his legacy is well established and his political shenanigans will remain in the spotlight for years to come as more and more facts continue to expose themselves. And thanks to courageous reporters like Greg Palast and others like him, the people will eventually find out some of the truth.
Book Review: introduction to politics
Summary: 5 Stars
This book has been an eye opener to me! So much information! And obviously all of it well researched and documented. I never knew so much goes on behind the scenes of American elections that cannot stand the light of day. If I would live in the US I certainly would want to vote and be passionate about which party I would vote for: definitely the Democrats who seem to look after the people instead of their bank accounts.